Erling Haaland Limps Off for Norway as Injury Cloud Hangs Over Manchester City
Erling Haaland asked to be substituted during Norway's 2-1 Nations League defeat to Portugal, leaving Manchester City sweating on their star striker's fitness ahead of Sunday's trip to Liverpool.
Manchester City's perfect start to the season is facing its first real scare. Erling Haaland limped out of Norway's 2-1 UEFA Nations League defeat to Portugal in Porto on Sunday night, sparking fresh fears over the fitness of the most important striker in English football.
What happened in Porto
With the score locked at 1-1 in the 67th minute, Haaland was seen signalling to the Norway bench that he was struggling. Moments later he was replaced by Jorgen Strand Larsen and walked straight off the pitch, clearly uncomfortable. He had gone without a goal on the night as Portugal went on to claim the win.
The sight will have sent a shiver through the Etihad. Haaland had played every single minute of Norway's previous three Nations League matches in this international break — a punishing workload on top of his club commitments. He arrived in this window in red-hot form, scoring twice in the 3-2 victory over Denmark and finding the net in the first meeting with Portugal, though he had drawn a blank in the defeat by Wales before Sunday's withdrawal.
City's nightmare timing
The extent of the problem remains unclear, with no official word yet on the nature or severity of the issue. But the timing could hardly be worse for City boss Enzo Maresca.
City travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on October 11 in the first genuine title-race showdown of the season. They will already be without Phil Foden for that fixture following his red card, while there are also doubts over Nico O'Reilly and Antoine Semenyo. Losing Haaland as well would rip the heart out of a side that has won all five of its Premier League games so far.
The Norwegian has been simply unstoppable this season: seven goals in seven appearances across all competitions, the spearhead of everything City do in attack. No other player in Maresca's squad offers anything like his presence, his movement or his ruthlessness in the box.
A difficult period for the champions
The injury worry caps a turbulent stretch for the club off the pitch, too. City were recently found guilty on 114 of 115 financial breach charges by an independent commission and have launched an appeal against the verdict — a saga that continues to rumble on in the background.
For now, though, all eyes are on the treatment room. Norway and City's medical teams will assess Haaland in the coming days, and supporters of both will be holding their breath. Anfield on Sunday is the kind of fixture seasons can pivot on — and City desperately need their No. 9 fit for it.